Our winter outing

Winter is a long season in Utah. Doug convinced me that we should purchase the attachment for our Chariot stroller to convert it to a cross country skiing sleigh. Today I ate every word I ever said about what a lame idea that was. They loved it! I was shocked when I reached inside, their hands and faces were warm! It was a beautiful day and even better--it was FREE. Thanks to Doug's sister, Michelle, for joining us on our first ride (and for picking up the ski rentals--what a fiasco--but we got free ski rentals for next time!)

I joked that E&S first word will be 'mush'. Doug was a trooper. When he read the instructions that morning, it said it was "only for experienced cross-country skiers." I think Doug was a little nervous, but he said it was fairly easy to pull.

I stayed behind to try to get a photo of Michelle and Doug with E&S. Every time I stopped, got my gloves off, camera out of its case, and ready to take the photo they were nearly out of sight. This was my third attempt. They were speedy...especially when I had to catch up.

Finally caught up and asked the only people near the path the entire time to snap a photo for us.

Michelle with Ethan after our journey.

Ethan slept for a good portion of the trip, while Sydney enjoyed a nap at the very end.

Don't know if they realize that this will be a regular occurance over the next few years.

Christmas Break

There aren't too many benefits to having a husband (and dad) in graduate school, but there is the 2-week break for Christmas. That is pretty sweet. Tomorrow is back to reality, so I thought I'd sum up the last two weeks in a quick post.

Ethan got his first haircut and we discovered that his hair is darker than we thought. It is light brown!


Sydney surprised us and learned to get on her knees while holding onto the crib. Doug and I were playing with her after she woke up from her nap. It was fun to watch her make a discovery.

On Wednesday, Dec 22nd the U of U played in their bowl game. Doug opened a present from Ethan and Sydney a little early. They had matching black/red/white pants to wear while we watched the game. I knew Doug would love it.

They had a great time playing with toys while we watched the game.
{photo below taken at halftime}

The next day, we went to Elyssa's (Doug's neice) basketball game. E&S were amazed by all the cheering, bouncing, and buzzers...but most of all Sydney was amazed by her cousin Josh. She kept smiling at him and if he wasn't noticing her, she would lean down to try to get in his line of sight. Josh wasn't sure what to do with the attention. He was nice to humor her and smile back...over and over and over again.

Ethan's cousin Keslee came after halftie and Ethan loved her attention.

We spent Christmas Eve with family closeby. In the afternoon, we went to the Merrills (Doug's sister) and played games and I worked on their puzzle. We must have too much fun with them because we always forget to snap a photo. In the evening, we went to my parent's house and had our traditional opening of family gifts. Ethan sported some bows--thanks to my dad--most of the evening.

Grandma gave them each a pair of pajamas. She went to the trouble of trimming the 'feet' off of Ethan's so he could wear them to bed. He still wears his brace for night and nap-time.

Christmas morning was pretty casual this year. We woke up, ate breakfast, cleaned up breakfast, and finally waltzed into the living room to see what Santa had brought around 10 am! Doug opened his rollerblades and decided to take them out for a spin. He went over to the Merrills to check out their loot. I told him he couldn't leave without a photo--rollerblading in December. He's been wanting a new pair of rollerblades for a while now. This summer we took the babies out for a rollerblading stroller ride a few times. Now Doug can go extra fast! (while being cautious and careful pushing the stroller of course)

E&S weren't really sure what to do with the presents. Here is a photo of them opening their gift from Aunt Michelle (Doug's sister). She gave them an amazing book collection and some 'quiet books' to look at during church. I know they will love them.

Michelle spent the weekend with us along with my parents and my brother Matt. We played a lot of games, but we also spent a lot of time holding fussy babies. Sydney cut her top tooth Christmas day and Ethan cut his 2nd tooth on Boxing day. We were glad they had a reason for refusing to nap most of the day. Made Christmas a little less fun for their mom and dad.

Merry Christmas

Discovery

We are making new discoveries around here lately. I am starting to get a little (or a lot) worried.

Ethan discovered his tongue, thanks to his mother.  Not sure it was a good idea, but if I repetitively stuck out my tongue (in...out...in...out) he would stop crying. So, of course, I continued to do it. Only a few days later, Ethan began sticking his tongue out back at me. It was a fun trick and he would laugh and giggle when he saw we were 'communicating' in some way. He looks a little like a punk in this photo while Syd fell asleep on our jog.

We discovered and bought some real 'high' chairs. They strap to our chairs, so they are by no means 'high', but they work perfectly for us.
#1 They have this cool toys that we can put on while I am getting their food ready. It works pretty well, but Ethan just keeps his eyes on his food and doesn't play much.
#2 They don't take up much room--space is limited here.
#3 They collapse down so we can easily take them with us. (our favorite feature so far)
#4 The entire thing is plastic and we could hose it down if we needed to.
#5 We adjusted the height so they can't reach things on the counter while I feed them--BONUS.
#6 They have rubber feet on the bottom so I can still feed them on the counter until they figure out how to move them around. Sydney has learned to 'rock and roll' a little so this won't be lasting much longer unfortunately.

 I discovered buying toys at thrift stores. I found 3 great toys for a grand total of $4.50 and brought them home and scrubbed them. Ethan and Sydney have loved this discovery.

Ethan and Sydney discovered magical Christmas lights. I found a video online of a house lit up and animated to music. When I looked where the house was located, it was 5 minutes from our house! We took a trip for our Family Home Evening last Monday night. They loved it. Amazing enough--it's free and you're encouraged to donate to Make a Wish Foundation. There were many volunteers directing traffic.

Sydney discovered it is so fun to get her food in her hair while she's eating.

Sydney also discovered our new garbage can. We purchased this because we had a smaller one here before and we knew they might start tipping it over soon. Well, Sydney thinks is amazing that she can see herself in it. I think it's amazing how dirty she is after crawling on this kitchen floor that I vacuumed 3 times last week and mopped!

Ethan looks like he discovered reading, but it you look closely this book is upside down. Sorry Ethan, we're still trying to teach you to speak English. On a side note, Ethan did cut his first tooth (Hallelujah!) just this week. He let me know that he was in pain. I told Doug on Tuesday, "I had so much sympathy for him until 4:30 in the afternoon." As of Thursday afternoon I declared the tooth was officially 'in' and I am dreading the second one.

Ethan is just days away from getting the crawling thing down. Sydney is army crawling (using her toes to propel herself forward) everywhere. Just yesterday I was on the phone with my sister and in the course of about one minute I had said (at opposite sides of the room):
"Sydney leave the garbage can alone--you have potato skin all over yourself."
"Ethan, don't eat the poinsettia leaf--it's poisonous! Let me see in your mouth."
"Ethan, don't roll off the couch when I am trying to pick up Sydney."

I caught him just in time...whew! I put one baby on the couch at a time to get ready to feed them.  I may be feeding them on the ground from now on.

Joy in 2010

We had another photo shoot last week with our friend, Mandy.  We spent about an hour at a friend's house and  capsured some great shots of our little family that has multiplied this last year.  I have chosen a send a Christmas card, but thought I'd share some of our favorites anyway. 

Look at these cute faces.  They bring so much joy into my life.

Give Thanks

Doug and I went took turns attending our church meetings today as both babies have yet another cold.  I attended Sacrament meeting and listened a couple speak about gratitude.  They have just moved into the neighborhood.  I walked out the door a better person.  The husband is in a wheelchair from a motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down--unable to use his arms.  The accident happened when they had been married only 11 months.  Every quote, experience, story, scriptural example they shared on gratitude left me feeling so much gratitude for the many blessings in my life. 

Here are a few blessings:
These two cute muffins are 10 months old.  My camera battery died after the first attempt at a photo of them before they went to bed.  Sydney fell backward just before I snapped the shot, but it will do.  They are getting so big and so fun.  It seems like most days I look down at a sleeping baby in my arms and I can't believe that I am a mom!  They bring so much laughter and sweetness into our home.

I love living close to family.  We spent Thanksgiving day with my parents, grandparents, and my brother, Matt.  My mom is one of the best cooks I know.  She spent more time and effort to make a dairy-free option for me for just about every dish on the table.  She is amazing.

Thanksgiving night I thought I'd snap a shot of my very tired husband who had made pumpkin pie for me(dairy free) the night before and woke up to bring the stuffing over to my parent's house early the next morning.  He is my best friend.

We had a great time introducing Ethan and Sydney to their first U of U party at Doug's brother's house Saturday.  We have so many generous people in our lives--one of them is a family friend who gave E & S these adorable Utah sweatshirts (and beanies not pictured).  Doug jumped at the chance to get them dressed for the day before the big BYU/Utah game.  Go UTES!

Doug was so dedicated to watching the game that he rocked E&S in their seats to put them to sleep for their naps.  They don't transition well into their carseats to stay asleep.  I can barely carry them together like that anymore.  Pretty soon I'll need to take one seat to the car at a time.  They are getting pretty heavy.  Doug is almost like a second mother to them.  He is up with them a lot at night so I can make it through the next day.  I am so lucky.

Raising Little Chefs

These two are getting so cute playing together.  The other day after I fed them, I was burping them (a very familiar position) on my nursing pillow and Sydney snuck her arm around Ethan.  She kept it there for several minutes and Ethan seemed to love her attention.

I don't know why I want to buy toys for them--I pull out this plastic spoon and my serving paddle/spoon from my rice cooker and they fight over it and go nuts! 

Same with the wooden spoon and spatula...their favorites.

I did Ethan's hair for the first time with a bit of gel this last week.  It's starting to hang over his ears a bit and, for some reason, I am just not ready to pull out the scissors.  Somehow they just get older once you start trimming their hair.

Syd discovered Ethan's pockets on his jeans this last week.  We're pretty sure she thinks they are the best thing ever.  Doug and I just couldn't stop laughing when we saw her grabbing at his rear and he was rolling around and playing.  She couldn't keep her hands off him!

I love a good deal.  Some of you may not know that about me, but I am guessing many do.  When I was 10, I would send in the mail-in offers for free things I didn't even need just because I could.  Well, having said that, I have wanted a Cuisinart food processor for a few years now.  Every time I saw it, I just couldn't justify spending the money.  Doug and I went into Kohls a few months ago with a $10 of a $10 purchase card that we got in the mail.  We waltzed past the food processors to see that it was on sale for $99!  Yes, a 14-cup food processor regularly $230.  I decided to get a 20% off coupon I had at home for a $100 purchase and come back that night...

I went to dinner with a few of my sisters and my mom that night and begged them to join me to pick up my food processor.  I had been getting more and more excited all afternoon.  When I got to the machine, it said it was now $199.  I asked the cashier closeby and she said that it was a power-hour sale and I had missed it. I was devistated.  It sounds rediculous now, but I returned to tell my family that I had missed the sale and I felt like I could just sit down and cry. 

My sister, Sarah, urged me to go talk to the manager and ask for the price.  I got up the courage and found the manager and dropped the 'I have twins' line that I have come to use frequently.  He said, "no problem. I can give you the price."  I was so excited.  In the end, they were sold out of the model and I got a rain check--including my two coupons.  After waiting for weeks for it to come in, I realized that they were going to be getting the new model.  I told the manager and he told me he would honor the $99 rain check for the now $359 machine!  After buying it online and getting my cash back through ebates (another money saving favorite for online shopping), I got this $359 machine for about $60.  I had to go in-store to use my coupons, so they refunded my card. 

I am now a Kohl's shopper.  Just 2 weeks ago, the box arrived on my door step.  Can't wait to make my favorite chocolate pie.

Another 'good deal' that I've been working with is Bountiful Baskets.  This morning was my first pick up and I was pretty excited to see all this fresh produce for my $16.50 that I put into it.  I've known about it for a while, but pick-up time is 8:15 am Saturday morning.  If you miss the 20 minute pick-up window, your produce is donated to the local fire station.  Now that I am up that early on Saturday morning with two cute kids, I thought I'd try it out.  It is a non-profit co-op that pools money together (order on Monday) and then they order at wholesale prices for pick-up Saturday.  The fun part is you have NO IDEA what you will get.  They shop specials and food that is in-season.  Interested?  They have this available in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.  It's pretty clever.  They ask that you volunteer when you can to sort the produce into baskets.  Highly recommend it.

Christmas Cards

I love getting Christmas cards.  It's great to see a recent photo, catch up on exciting events in my family/friends lives, and stick it up on my magnet board.  Ironically, Ethan and Sydney loved our Christmas card magnet board so much when they came home that we've had Christmas cards up all year long right in our living room.  So, I'm very excited to see the latest and greatest this year (hint. hint.)

The funny part is that I am debating sending Christmas cards--as much as I enjoy yours'.  It's the time and money that I am not sure I want to spend.  I'd love your thoughts on this.  My friend, Kayla, got me thinking about this because she did a great post on her photography blog.  She is charging only $15 to drop your photo(s) into her cute designs and then you can print them anywhere.  It's a cheaper option than making your cards with a template in a store.  She is doing a giveaway Dec 1st where 2 people can win their card design for FREE!  Just leave a comment. 

She used some of the photos she took of us this summer to demo some of her designs.  This one is my favorite:

So go check it out. 

Happy Dress-up Day

I am the Scrooge of Halloween. I don't like anything about the holiday--loading kids up with junk food, haunted houses, scary movies, people trying to scare you or people wanting to be scared, blood, gore, guts, people smashing pumpkins and other valdalism in the name of Halloween, and most of all that we celebrate evil things.  The ONLY thing I can come up with that I like about the holiday is the dress-up--not the scary costumes, but the cute, fun ones.  As a result, I chose to call this "Happy Dress-up Day" vs "Happy Halloween". 

We had a great time choosing costumes and dressing up the babies.  We went to a pumpkin-carving party on Friday night hosted by some friends we met in the NICU.  For those of you who have followed by blog during our NICU stay, it is the other set of twins I would refer to.  We took our first photo of the four of them.  The boys are fraternal twins by definition, but are most likely identical.  It is rare, but possible.  They are such mild boys and look so much bigger than E&S because they have huge heads. (85-95%tile)  We have done playgroup with them about 4-5 times in hopes that they will be friends someday.  Poor Syd will be the only girl...

Here are our little monsters.  They didn't mind their costumes the first time we put them on, or the second...

Here Sydney is attempting to roll over in her costume.  It was hilarious.

By the fifth time we tried on their costumes, they were pretty irritated with us.  We went to the party in cosume as well.  What else would we choose by cookies?  I turned to Doug and said, "they devour us".  It feels pretty accurate this morning.  Both of them have really stuffy noses and between two sick babies we were up most of the night Monday night.  Last night was better though.  I hate it when they are sick.  It's so sad.

Saturday night (the day before Halloween), we were glued to the TV watching the Utah Utes claim another victory.  We can't wait until this weekend against TCU.  It's a great year for Utah football.  GO UTES!

I cannot get a photo yet, but Sydney has cut two of her front teeth.  You'd never know it--she is so chill.  She had 2 fussy days while the second one came through (yesterday it finally came through).  She is amazing.  I have given her many 'high fives' and said, "you did it Sydney!"